AmorePacific grows 10-fold under Suh's leadership

By Lee Hyo-sik

AmorePacific has become one of the world’s cosmetics powerhouses under the leadership of company Chairman and CEO Suh Kyung-bae over the past two decades, according to company officials Monday.

Korea’s largest cosmetics firm, which calls itself an Asian beauty creator, has been expanding its global business and offering a range of innovative skincare and other beauty products to consumers around the globe.

AmorePacific has also been recognized as one of the most sustainable and socially responsible businesses for its employee-friendly corporate culture, a win-win partnership with small businesses and active social giving programs.

Under its Vision 2025 scheme, the company seeks to become a “great company” by bolstering its overseas presence, innovating the way it conducts business, creating additional value for employees and local communities and expanding its product portfolio, the officials said.

“AmorePacific faced its biggest crisis 20 years ago. We worked really hard to overcome difficulties at the time. Thanks to our can-do spirit, we were able to ride out the unprecedented hardship at the time,” Suh said.

“We will continue to cherish that spirit and double our efforts to provide the best beauty products and support those in need,” he said.

Several months after the chairman took the company helm in March 1997, Korea was hit by the Asian financial crisis.

In 1996, the company earned 646 billion won in sales. But it has grown more than tenfold to having earned 6.7 trillion won in 2016. Its operating profit expanded 21 times to 1.8 trillion won from 52.2 billion won over the same period.

Last year, AmorePacific ranked as the 12th-largest cosmetics firm in the world. It exported 1.7 trillion won in 2016, mostly to its three major markets: China, Southeast Asia and North America.

“We will mobilize more resources to expand our presence in Southeast Asia and North America,” a company official said. “We will also open more stores and establish business ties in the Middle East where the demand for made-in-Korea beauty products has been increasing rapidly.”

Pink Run Marathon

The company organized the Pink Run Marathon 2017 in the southeastern port city of Busan, Sunday, as part of its campaign to raise awareness of breast cancer among women, the company said Monday.

It holds the marathon in several large cities throughout the year, in cooperation with the Korea Breast Cancer Foundation. Besides Busan, the event is organized in Seoul, Daejeon, Gwangju and Daegu, providing useful information about breast health and self-examination methods for participants.

This year, organizers changed the name of the event to the Pink Run Marathon from the previous Pink Ribbon Love Marathon.

About 5,000 people wearing pink T-shirts ran the 5- to 10-kilometer race along the coastal road. Rhythmic gymnast Shin Soo-ji and AmorePacific employees, as well as foundation officials also participated in the marathon.

Sponsored by several brands, including Hera and Aritaum, various events were held at the venue to raise awareness.

“For the past 16 years, we have been able to successfully continue the Pink Run Marathon on the back of enthusiastic support from people of all walks of life,” said AmorePacific executive director Kim Jeong-ho, who heads the firm’s PR department. “The marathon has become one of Korea’s most significant events that highlight the importance of breast cancer prevention.”

The entrance fees for the event will be donated to the Korea Breast Cancer Foundation in order to provide financial assistance for low-income patients with breast cancer. The foundation has donated more than 3.2 billion won paid by 299,000 participants.